UConn Ready For Lafayette/Rider Invitational on FridayThe Huskies Will Use Friday's Meet for Indiivual Improvement as The American Championship Fast Approaches

Eric Masington

Feb. 12, 2014

STORRS, Conn. – Fresh off an exciting win at the Sykes & Sabock Challenge Cup last week, the University of Connecticut men’s track & field team will travel to New York City, N.Y. for the Lafayette/Rider Invitational. The New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory will provide the location for host institution Lafayette. The one day meet lasts all-day Friday and will not be a team-scored event.

“This is a meet where we look to make progress in areas that we need to improve in,” said head coach Greg Roy of Friday’s competition. “Whereas the scoring meets focus on the team, this meet focuses on the individual. We’ve sat down with each athlete and identified what areas bear improvement and what can be accomplished leading up to the Championship season. With a 3 week window, we can cover a lot of ground.”

After a spectacular weekend at Penn State’s Sykes & Sabock Challenge Cup last weekend, the Huskies will look to continue improving. Providing momentum should be some of the best performances of the season by Alvaro Chavez, Robert Rhodes, and the 4x400 meter relay team last week. Chavez, who was selected as the American Athletic Conference Track Athlete of the Week on Tuesday, posted the third-fastest time in the nation with a time of 1:47.96 in the 800 meter run.

Robert Rhodes also cracked the top-50 national times with a first-place finish in the 600 meter run. The sophomore grabbed the gold in 1:17.36 while teammate Paul DeSalvo earned silver in 1:20.25.